94-96 struts on a 1990 GT

[kzooman83]

Hello all! So I am replacing the struts on a 1990 Beretta GT; I was unable to find complete struts for a 90, so I went with later struts (94, I believe) as they appear to be identical with the exception of the bracket for the sway bar. They fit the car perfectly, but after I finished, the car sat at least 2" higher. They are not binding, and the suspension seems to articulate properly, but they would not settle lower than that. I removed the struts again and compared them to the old ones, and it appears the springs on the new struts have an extra coil, increasing the ride height and maybe the spring rate. Before I take these apart and either cut the springs or swap the old springs on the new struts, does anyone know how the later cars accommodate this? I didn't think the suspension design changed much, and the weight over the front wheels should be similar...thanks in advance for your advice!

[woody90gtz]

The strut mounts are different. I used the 1995 style on my 1991 without issue.
If you go on rockauto and compare the photos of the early vs late style strut mount you'll see the difference.

[kzooman83]

I swapped the old springs onto the new struts and had it aligned; seems to have solved the problem. Thanks for the reply!